Brand-Spanking Newbie Here!

[asheyna]

So I'm brand new to keeping an aquarium. Just got a 35gallon tank with a Penguin 350 given to me and decided to see what I could make of it. It's my first time keeping a big tank, I've had a Betta before. (My sister killed it while I was on vacation :scry: ) Here's my setup right now:

Done a fair bit of reading but always looking for more advice!

That's my tank, now me. I'm a single mom to a gorgeous little girl. I teach special needs english, math and science. Originally I wanted to be a marine biologist with a focus on the genetics side of things but life has other plans for me!

Apparently I'm not good at these things. I'm friendly, just ask and I'll prolly answer lol.

 

[Staxx]

thats a nice looking tank tbh. im not a big fan of the big "natural" looking heavily planted scapes.


any ideas for stocking?

 

[DrRob]

Welcome.

I think we'd all love to know what your plans are for this.

 

[asheyna]

Welcome.

I think we'd all love to know what your plans are for this.

Well after having the water tested at two different fish places I started out with 4 Cherry Barbs (2M and 2F). They seem to be settling in nicely!

The one thing I know for sure I want in the tank is a pair of Angelfish. The rest will be built around that.

At the moment I'm looking at possibly 1 Bristlenose Pleco (pretty sure I'll get this one) and then a combination of: a few guppies (I've seen conflicting information as to their compatibility with the angels), cories, my daughter would love a shark but I'm not sure on compatibility and from what I've read they will likely grow too large for our tank (possible alternatives welcome!), or a pair of Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi).

Other than the angels I'm pretty flexible though so suggestions would be great!

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Angels need a tall tank. A 35 gallon tall is okay for angels. Not a long. Sorry

 

[Man of fish]

A 35 long might be ok as long as it's 20 inches tall.

Did you cycle the tank? Cherry barbs are nice. I've got 2, but planning on 6. I'd up yours to 6 as well. Cories would like groups of 6+, not a problem in your tank, but they need sand for their delicate barbels. Also shark wise, all will be too large for your tank, but maybe zebra loaches as they look like the "sharks" but only get about 4 inches.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

Have you ever kept angels? They get a good 8-10 inches tall.

 

[Man of fish]

No, but 20 inches tall is the minimum most tanks aren't taller than 2 feet, so if it's 30 inches then there is many very poorly kept angels out there.

 

[crazyforcordoras]

My tank i kept angels in is probaby 30-35 inches. They need tall tanks to thrive. Especially a pair. They will dominate a tank like that.

 

[asheyna]

Just measured the tank, it's 18.5 inches tall. Will that be enough?

Man of Fish - I did cycle the tank although it was my first time so I'm not totally certain I did it right. That's why I'm starting with 4 Cherry Barbs, my research seems to indicate they'd be good fish to do a fish-in cycle and are a little hardier than the rest of what I want to put in. If I understand it right I need to keep an eye on the ammonium levels and change the water if they get too high and wait til they stabilize before the tank is considered properly cycled?

The barbs seem to be settling in nicely. Yesterday they kept to the bottom and kind of scattered but today they're getting a little more adventurous and are sticking together. I've been using AQ Advisor to see how many fish my tank can handle, etc. I'm not sure that I could get 6 cories in there with everything else I'd like to have! 5 is the suggested number of Barbs so I'll likely be getting one more to add to the bunch, does it matter M/F?

As for the zebra loaches, I certainly like the look of those but being bottom feeders would I then still want the pleco or will they tank over that job? Also some of the research I did quickly suggested sand in the tank for the loaches and some didn't mention it at all. AQ Advisor didn't mention it so I'm wondering what the opinion here is?

Sorry if I'm asking so many questions! I'm going right now to post in the appropriate forum rather than hijacking the intro discussion space!

 

[Man of fish]

You want to monitor ammonia and nitrite, NOT ammonium.

That site is considering a very poor database here. You'll need sand for the loaches and 6 is the recommended number for ALL schooling fish. A fishless cycle is easier but a fish-in is fine as well. IMO 18.5 inches is enough, but I'm not sure if I'd try it

 

[asheyna]

You want to monitor ammonia and nitrite, NOT ammonium.

That site is considering a very poor database here. You'll need sand for the loaches and 6 is the recommended number for ALL schooling fish. A fishless cycle is easier but a fish-in is fine as well. IMO 18.5 inches is enough, but I'm not sure if I'd try it

Sorry yes, sleepy coffee-less brain (it was a dare), I meant to say ammonia.

The more I research angelfish the more I think they may not do well in the kind of tank I have in mind. That and I don't intend to be the kind of owner who puts fish in less than ideal conditions. Perhaps once I get this community tank up and running I'll look into getting a tank specifically for angelfish.

I've been looking into Dwarf Butterfly Cichlids and was just about to post in the Cichlid forum asking about them. It's too bad AQ Advisor is considered a poor resource, the concept is extremely useful. Is there a similar site you'd suggest? Or just browsing forums and reading up on species I'd like to stock?

Lastly, regarding the loaches, how would I go about adding sand to an already existing aquarium set up?

 

[Man of fish]

Remove gravel, wash sand, add sand. In the process put fish in a tub with filter and heater.

 

[asheyna]

Remove gravel, wash sand, add sand. In the process put fish in a tub with filter and heater.

That's what I figured, so there's no way to add it to an in progress tank. Hmm... in that case I might want to pass for now. Thank you though!

 

[Man of fish]

It only takes like 2 hours in total it's really easy. But you can't have any bottom dwellers with that gravel. (such as cories or loaches)